well it'll literally destroy the Asus E35M1-I Deluxe build thats for sure!
i mean, the FUSION E-350 platform is fair, cheap, but cant compete against the A8-3850!!

now your I3-540 is pretty strong,
if you check its CPU passmark here http://goo.gl/SW5S3
2848 is fairly powerful!
but A8-3850's passmark is 5603! http://goo.gl/BGqfg
pretty much double strength/muscles to me!

as of today, i'd say Flip to i3 CPU if your after serious hardcore heavy gaming with your HTPC..
because if your only gonna play emulators up to N64 or Dreamcast,
A8-3850 handles those without a hitch!
And it handles even more!
have you checked the A8-3850's gaming video review?
see it here --> A8-3850 Gaming Performance Comparison
good stuff

So this build can play 1080p and 3D no problem? Basically this APU is a quad core CPU and an HD6550 graphic card mixed into one? So this would be the same as buying a quad core CPU and an hd6550 gpu separately correct?

I'm looking to build one more htpc and I can spend around $450 but if anything more than this is overkill why spend more..

Wow, I've spent the last 48 hrs researching what parts I should have and basically came up with the same as you . Except I'm hoping the CPU can be a A6-3500.

This HTPC will be for my Dad. Will this play Blurays and freeview (using a tv tuner card)fine? Im hoping to connect the whole thing through an HDMI cable.

For the SSD, im planning on getting an intel 320 40g (as its on special right now) and just 4 gigs of DDR3. Does it matter if its 1x4gb or 2x2gb? Also, should the ram be a certain speed for the mobo/cpu set up?